Stories about East Asia from June, 2010
Laos: Vientiane's second radio station
Sabydee Lao blogs about the opening of a radio station in Vientiane, Laos. It’s newsworthy because it is only the second radio station in the nation's capital.
Malaysia: Migrant worker fired for lodging complaint with government
jelas.info from Malaysia uploads a letter from labor groups highlighting the case of a migrant worker who was fired by an employer after lodging a complaint with the labor department.
Club of Cambodian Journalists
The website of the Club of Cambodian Journalists seeks to provide information to promote press freedom and media rights in Cambodia.
2010 Asia Declaration on Internet Governance
The 2010 Asia Declaration on Internet Governance tackled issues on internet governance, security, and access of information. The manifesto was signed by delegates from many Southeast Asian nations.
Singapore: Swiss national to be caned for train vandalism
A Swiss IT consultant in Singapore was sentenced to three strokes of the cane and five months in prison after he pleaded guilty to breaking into a Singapore train depot last month and vandalising two carriages. Bloggers debate whether caning is an appropriate punishment.
Japan: Thanks, Blue Samurai!
Japan lost to Paraguay 3-5 in a penalty shootout yesterday but the Blue Samurai's performance touched their fans’ heart, Kazumie says.
Taiwan: Fly, Wen Gui Hospital, Fly!
Have you ever seen the Pixar/Disney animation “UP”? See the real version in Tainan County, Taiwan(zht) when students from Tainan National University of the Arts tried to save the old Wen Gui(文貴) Hospital(photos) , a historic building which is scheduled to be demolished on June 30.
China: The end of Google.cn redirect
Kai Pan from China/divide comments on the end of Google.cn's redirecting of search engine to Google Hong Kong.
China: Shanghai World Expo
Maple Xu blogs about her experience in the Shanghai World Expo. The post is translated from Chinese into English by Xujun Eberlein.
China: A music video's take on property prices
Alice from DANWEI translated the lyrics of a music video commenting on the property price in China.
Taiwan: Don't call Rendy Lu “Glory of Taiwan”
“Do not always praise these national athletes ‘Glory of Taiwan’ loudly only after they strived hard to glorify themselves!” argues Klairelee(zht), who blames Taiwanese government and media that are always eager to consume their achievement but paid no attention to many striving Taiwanese athletes-including Taiwanese tennis player Rendy(Yen Hsun) Lu who just beat Andy Roddick at Wimbleton...
Japan: Questionnaire about English ability
What Japan Thinks translated the results of a questionnaire about “when Japanese feel most ashamed about their lack of English”. The number one situation? “When a foreigner asks me the way and I cannot answer. ” Here's a series of comical commercials from Nova, the now defunct English conversational language...
Japan: The Hero, Sakamoto Ryoma
Confident, charismatic, and ever so dashing, Sakamoto Ryoma has always been one of Japan's favorite historical figures. Since NHK started to broadcast the historical drama series Ryōmaden ('The Legend of Ryoma') this January, a nation-wide Ryoma boom has exploded.
Global: Statistics on Countries Participating in World Cup
SRF from GeoCurrent Events blog writes about the economic geography of the 2010 FIFA World Cup participant countries.
China: Gamers need not worry over new real name rules
This summer will see the introduction of real name regulations for e-commerce entrepreneurs and online gamers. With a series of past failed attempts in China at implementing similar rules, one blogger looks at the logistics of real name requirements and doesn't expect these new regulations to stick.
Japan: Voice tweets override election rule
Akky Akimoto from Asiajin points out that incumbent upper house member Kenzo Fujisue tried to avoid the violation of upper house election rule in Japan by posting url of voice tweets instead of text tweets.
Philippines: Dancing Prisoners’ Tribute to Michael Jackson
And they've done it again. Convicted criminals from Cebu Province in the Philippines danced to the tunes of the late Michael Jackson in a tribute performance marking the first death anniversary of the famous music icon.
Singapore: No to caning
Spotlight on Singapore is against the punishment of caning. Recently, a foreigner who was found guilty of vandalizing a train in Singapore was sentenced to 5 months in jail and three strokes of the cane.
Thailand: Bangkok back to normal?
Don Gilliland observes that “the comforting rhythm of daily life in Bangkok has returned to normal this month.” Protesters were able to paralyze many parts of the city for two months this year
Lao44 website
Lao44 or Coalition for Lao Information, Communication and Knowledge is the largest repository of documents in Lao language. The number 44 in Lao44 refers to Article 44 in the Constitution which says that Lao citizens have the right and freedom of speech, press and assembly.
Thailand: Red Shirt leader to run for parliamentary seat
Korkaew Pikulthong, detained Red Shirt leader in Thailand, is running for a parliamentary seat. The Red Shirts are anti-government protesters who paralyzed several parts of Bangkok for two months this year
About our East Asia coverage
Oiwan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
Nevin Thompson is the Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
